Notorious and Paranoid
by Demetersgal
Summary: Cats fic, Mostly the story of Mungojerrie, how he became an agent, and how Demeter got captured into Macavity's clutches. MungoDemi pairing.
1. Mungojerrie's Slip Up

Disclaimer: I do not own Cats. If I did I'd be in Mexico right now.

Notorious and Paranoid  
  
This big break was all Mungojerrie needed. All he needed and he could be free. Free from Macavity, free from crime, free to take his sister and leave the warehouse forever.  
Mungo quietly entered the house; it was an expensive one, on Victoria Grove, the ritziest neighborhood in all of London. As Mungo snuck in through an open window, he stopped to admire several vases and paintings that decorated the parlor that he had wandered into. He knew what he had to do next, up in one of the bedrooms were the precious jewels Macavity insisted on having. Mungojerrie did not know why in fact he loved these shiny rocks so much, to Mungo, they had no value whatsoever. Mungojerrie figured Macavity just wanted to be more like his idols, namely humans.

Mungojerrie walked slowly up the stairs; the carpet was red and rich, very soft on his padded paws. When Mungo reached the top, he caught a scent in the air, he immediately crouched low. It was an animal, not a dog, but a cat. He sniffed the air cautiously. He hoped this cat, whoever he was, wouldn't be big, vicious, or a problem.

"I'd best go find them before they find me," Mungo thought irritably to himself. He scratched a black ear pausing once more to sniff the air, and he followed the scent to a small room, not a human bedroom, but a bedroom for the cat alone. Mungo was amazed.

"What I wouldn't give to live here," Mungo thought with a bit of jealously. All of a sudden he felt a claw in his back. He yelped, quietly though, he still had the jewels on his mind, and his freedom. He whipped around and to his astonishment, there was a queen standing in a fighting position. And a mighty small queen at that. She had black and gold fur, and startling green eyes. Mungo noticed she was quite pretty. Beautiful, he would say, even.

"'ang on, 'and on, oi ain't gonna 'urt you none!" Mungojerrie said hastily in a thick cockney accent.

"What are you doing in my house?" The queen spat menacingly. She was fiery, even if she was a small little thing.

"Oi... long story, oi ain't gonna 'arm you none, neither ya owners, awroite? Oi am sorry for disturbin' ya miss..." Mungo hesitated. He knew she wouldn't forgive him this easily for barging into her house unnoticed.

"Demeter. You're a stray aren't you Mr....." The queen, apparently called Demeter, sat down, still warily looking at Mungojerrie. Mungo felt very aware that he hadn't groomed himself properly in a while, and he licked his paw quickly, in an attempt to tidy up a bit.

"Mungojerrie. But call me Mungo," Mungo said, putting on his charming half smile and ignoring her question. It flickered when Demeter's expression stayed icy cold. He sighed. "Yea, oi am a stray. An' no, oi don' loike it. Confused now? Oi don' 'ave toime to explain moi loife story to you Demetah', so do me a favah' and stay outta moi way, ok? Maybe we'll meet again sometime..." Mungojerrie said firmly, and he turned and walked out of the room, his back throbbing where she had sunk her claws into him. He was surprised when he didn't hear her following him, so he made his way to the humans' room. He quietly crept onto the carpet; this one was long and furry as well. His claws got stuck in it several times. He leapt lightly up onto a dresser, looking over at the humans in their beds. The queen stirred slightly but didn't wake up. He saw a jewelry box and Mungo knew he had hit jackpot. He was about to open it when he heard a hiss behind him. He turned his head slightly and he saw Demeter from the corner of his eye, hissing angrily at him.

"Demetah! Oi tol' ya ta stay out of it!" Mungo whispered with hostility. "I can't just stand here and watch you steal from my owners!" Demeter said with defiance. Mungo caught a look in her eyes though, it was almost apologetic. Demeter took a deep breath and yowled at the top of her lungs. Mungo leapt off the dresser in surprise, and took off for the hallway. He heard cursing behind him from the humans as he ran to the open window. Mungo did a fair bit of cursing as well. His freedom was gone. He leapt out the window, a feeling of dread growing through him like poison. He ran through the darkness of the night. He had a sudden image of Demeter, her intense eyes staring daggers through him. He couldn't get her off his mind. He suddenly wished he could see her again.

Mungo had been running for quite a long time. Victoria Grove was a long ways away from the warehouse Macavity and his gang of strays lived at. He finally reached the warehouse, it was old and abandoned looking from the outside, but inside there were mazes of hallways and chambers. Mungo stepped up to the entrance. Immediately, two stocky toms approached him.

"Ah, it's only Mungojerrie," The larger one said. He was mostly a dusty brown color, with one black paw. His name was Janguire.

"Oh, 'ey Mungo. Good raid tonight?" The other one said cheerfully. He had a more pleasant looking face; he was a grey tabby, with heavier black markings around his eyes, tail and paws. His name was Ruttifer.

"The boss is gonna kill me Rute," Mungo said groaning. Ruttifer shook his head sympathetically and he and Janguire stepped aside to let him through. Mungo made his way to throne room, as Macavity liked to call it. It was Macavity's living chambers. Mungo groomed himself quickly before he knocked on the door nervously but firmly. He hoped Macavity wasn't with a queen, interrupting him and a queen would mean certain trouble.

"What?" He heard a voice yell from inside.

"It's... it's Mungojerrie sir," Mungo said, trying to keep the accent out of his voice, which was very difficult for him. "

Come in," He heard Macavity growl from the inside. Mungo went in nervously. He sat down in front of Macavity. The red cat was wild looking, young and good looking. He was the most eligible bachelor in the warehouse, he was ruler of everyone. Mungo envied him and despised him at the same time.

"'ey boss," Mungo said quietly. "So Mungo? How'd it go? Is that freedom I hear?" Macavity put a paw to his ear and grinned at Mungo. The grin never reached his eyes. They remained cold and yellow.

"Oime... fraid not boss. Oi woz insoide, but this queen, small little thing, she yowled something fierce and woke up them 'umans. Oi told 'er to stay out of it, but she wouldn' listen," Mungojerrie said this all very fast and cringed a bit while looking at Macavity's expression.

"Why didn't you just deal with her? You could've knocked her cold," Macavity said in a deadly quiet voice.

"Oi... she..." Mungo said, his throat very dry. He would never do something like that; it was too horrible to even think about.

"Let me guess. She was a very pretty queen. You didn't want to hurt her. You had no backbone," Macavity said, flicking his claws out and clicking them together. It was a gruesome sound. Mungo nodded silently. "I'm going to deal with this myself. You can kiss your freedom goodbye Mungojerrie," Macavity said angrily pushing past him.

"I'll deal with you later," Mungo watched him leave, a lump in his throat. He felt like crying, his freedom was gone. That would have been his last raid. He could have left, and gone to the Jellicles, he could have found his sister. Mungo made his way slowly back to the living quarters, he knew Macavity would surely give him a black eye or two when he returned from wherever he was going. It wasn't something he was looking forward to. When Mungo reached the living quarters, he nodded to a few cats, but didn't talk to anyone. He settled down on a pillow in the corner and drifted into an uneasy sleep...

[Flashback/Dream]

"So, this is your son eh?" Fireforefiddle growled. He was large and black, with dark red markings throughout his coat. A young Mungojerrie stood shaking at his feet, while a larger Tom with similar markings stood at his side.  
"Ye... yessir!" The larger tom replied. He was Mungojerrie's father, if you could call him that. He beat and abused Mungo and his sister, and now all he was going to do was sell him to Fireforefiddle. His name was Jerome.  
"Yea, this boy'll do. But that little queen, she can go to the junkyard. I'll collect her when I'm in need, eh?" Fireforefiddle said, pointing to the small queen with identical markings to Mungojerrie.  
"But... she's moi twin sistah'! We can' live wiffout each othah!" Mungo said, panic creeping into his voice.  
"Look, you want to work for me, you'll accept the consequences," Fireforefiddle said angrily. Mungo looked tearfully at his twin Rumpleteazer.  
"Jus... be brave Mungo. We'll see each othah again someday," Rumple said softly. She kissed him on the cheek and waited for her dad to escort her to the junkyard where the Jellicles lived.  
"Make me proud son," Jerome said with an evil looking grin. Mungo gulped and tried to hold in his tears.  
"Oill ya won' is money! That's all! You... don' love me at all!" Mungojerrie burst out suddenly. Jerome and Fireforefiddle began to laugh loudly. Mungo felt very stupid at his outburst.  
"Well, he is observant. My son will teach him to hold his tongue," Fireforefiddle said, and he started to lead Mungo inside the warehouse. Mungo gave one last look to his sister and he turned his face away as he slipped inside the forbidding warehouse.


	2. Demeter's Capture

  
  
Mungo woke up in a cold sweat. He was shaking, he had been having the dream again, about the last time he saw his sister and father. He had only been sleeping for a little bit, the sun was just beginning to rise outside, setting a golden haze over the living quarters. Several cats were milling about, looking either sleepy or grumpy. Mungo stretched and groomed himself a bit, and stalked out to the alleyway to get a bit to eat.  
  
As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted some open garbage lying near a can.  
  
"Disgusting," Mungo thought to himself, digging through the garbage. He had no other food, unless he wanted to go steal something, which he did not feel in the mood for at the moment. He was munching on something (you don't want to know what it was), when he heard his name being called.  
  
"Mungo! Mungo, where are you?" The voice yelled down the alley. Mungo swallowed and ran to see who was calling him. He saw a tom younger than him; he was all black, with a white tip to his tail.  
  
"Hey, Lean, what's up?" Mungo said to him as he walked up.  
  
"It's the boss Mungo, he's back, he wants to see you right away," Lean said quickly. He was very out of breath. Mungo's eyes widened and he ran into the warehouse without saying anything to Lean. He raced down the corridors to Macavity's throne room. Pausing to breath heavily, he knocked on the door loudly. He was surprised when it opened immediately, he therefore fell face first into the room.  
  
Mungo looked up to see Macavity grinning evilly at him.  
  
"So oime guessin' ya finished off the job?" Mungo said weakly, getting off the ground.  
  
"More than finished it. I had no idea she was so fiery," Macavity said raising an eyebrow at Mungo. Mungo's throat tightened horribly.  
  
"Wha... whad'ya mean sir?" Mungo said, his voice cracking.  
  
"That girl that stopped you. Demetra or whatever her name is. She'll do nicely. So I'm forgiving you for screwing up," Macavity said, going over to his big chair and sitting down, surveying Mungojerrie through his claws. Mungojerrie didn't know what to say. He had gone and captured Demeter! It was too horrible to think about.  
  
"Wha... what're ya goina do wiff 'er?" Mungo said in a would-be-casual voice.  
  
"I'll tame her yet, she'll do nicely for one of my queens. Maybe even head queen one day, you never know," Macavity said, yawning and looking bored. Mungo nodded wordlessly. He had seen this happen countless of times. Macavity would capture a queen, and rape and beat her repeatedly until she broke down. Lots of them died, a few went insane, some were still hanging around the warehouse... a gaunt look in their eyes.  
  
"I want you to take her to her cell, and if she wakes up, just explain the situation. I'm sure you can manage," Macavity said, pointing to a limp body on the bed behind him. Mungo almost jumped in the air, he had no idea Demeter was in the room with them. Mungo walked over to the bed and looked at Demeter's limp form. She had blood on her lips and cheek, and bruises on her face and chest. She had some scratches on her stomach, and her paws were stained with blood. Mungo gulped and picked her up gently.  
  
"Oill get 'er to a cell boss," Mungo said quietly to Macavity, walking out of the room with Demeter in his arms. Mungo had a frown on his face as he walked through the halls. He looked at Demeter's face. She was really very young, it surprised him, she acted so much older than she was. She was just a kitten, maybe 7 months old. Mungo got the sick feeling in his stomach again, thinking of what Macavity was planning to do to her. He arrived at a cell reserved for her and she laid her down gently. He didn't want to leave her just yet, so he sat down and looked at her delicate face. Suddenly she stirred, and her eyes snapped open in horror.  
  
She flew at Mungo in a rage, spitting and hurling curses at him and trying to gouge his eyes out with her claws. Mungo jumped back in surprise and grabbed hold of her arms firmly. She struggled to escape his grasp with a wild look in her eyes.  
  
"Demetah! It's me, Mungojerrie!" Mungo said frantically. Demeter kept struggling.  
  
"Get'im way from me!" She screamed over and over. Mungojerrie wrapped his arms around Demeter and held her tightly while she continued to try and escape. Eventually her attempts became weaker and she sobbed into Mungo's arms.  
  
"Demetah, 'ee didn' do nuffin' ta ya... did 'ee?" Mungojerrie asked her quietly releasing her from his grasp. She choked and sobbed and looked up at Mungojerrie with streaming eyes. She really was a small little thing.  
  
"He..." Demeter coughed, "He tried to. But I kept trying to run away, and he would just hit me and he kept telling me I'd do nicely," Demeter wiped her eyes. "What did he mean?"  
  
Mungo gulped. He didn't want to be the one to explain it to her.  
  
"Well... oi s'pose 'ee wons ta make you 'is queen," Mungo said softly rubbing her shoulder. Demeter backed away from him.  
  
"This is sick. Get me out of here," Demeter whispered, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" She screamed the last part at Mungo. Mungo just shook his head sadly at her.  
  
"Oime sorry Demetah" Mungo said slowly, backing out of the room, a horrified look on Demeter's face. Mungo stepped out of the room and locked it with the key. He leaned against the door and sighed, listening to Demeter's screams. 


	3. Griddlebone's Accusation

Krissy4 – Thanks so much for your reviews, read your fic pearls of freedom, I really enjoyed it, keep it up.  
  
Mungojerrie just felt awful. He hadn't gone back to see Demeter in three days, he was too scared. He knew Macavity had already taken her innocence, he had been bragging about it all morning. Mungo knew how scared she must feel, she probably hadn't eaten in three days either. Mungo couldn't get her off of his mind, he had no clue why.  
  
It was late afternoon; Mungo knew Macavity was out somewhere, on a raid, or just patrolling through the city, looking for trouble.  
  
"Oi 'ave to see Demetah" Mungo thought to himself worriedly, "Tah' see if she's awroite," Mungo prowled through the hallways with a dark look on his face, weaving in and out of the queens and toms that were hanging around. He reached Demeter's cell and he put an ear to it. He couldn't hear anything, so he grabbed a key off the wall where all the keys to the cells were kept. He unlocked her door slowly and peered inside.  
  
The inside of the cell was filthy; there were a few ratty blankets lying around, and a bowl of grimy water lying against the wall close to the door. At first Mungo didn't see Demeter, but he heard a raspy breath in the corner, and he stepped into the room and he saw her curled up in a corner. She was incredibly dirty; he fur was matted with sweat and blood. She was breathing, but they were shallow, raspy breaths that sounded awful. Mungo timidly stepped up to her and put a paw on her shoulder. Demeter opened her eyes and looked at him wearily. Her eyes looked clouded; it didn't even look like she could see him.  
  
"Jus' get on with it," She muttered curling up in a tighter ball. Mungojerrie felt sick to his stomach.  
  
"Demetah, it's me, Mungojerrie. Oi ain' gonna do nuffin tah ya," Mungo said quietly, pulling her upright. She shook her head and blinked a few times, peering at him with confusion.  
  
"Mungo?" Demeter said looking at him with recognition in her eyes. She smiled slightly and then leaned away and retched on the ground beside him. Mungo held her, still feeling sick to his stomach.  
  
"Demetah, 'ave you eaten' anyfin since oi las' saw ya?" Mungo said holding her chin so she could look him in the eyes. She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.  
  
"You're comin' wiff me," Mungo said firmly, picking her up. He didn't care how much trouble he could get in for this, she was going to die if he didn't do anything. She closed her eyes and leaned in against his chest, coughing slightly. He carried her out of the cell, looking around cautiously. He didn't see anyone coming, so he snuck down the hallways carefully, with Demeter still in his arms. The only safe place to take her would be the queens' quarters.  
  
As Mungo reached the door to the queens' quarters, he knocked on it uncertainly, he had never been inside of the queen's rooms before, toms weren't allowed.  
  
A red queen opened the door; she was very tall and extremely beautiful. Her name was Bombalurina, she was one of Macavity's queens, and head queen at the moment. She was the biggest flirt of all the queens, every tom wanted her.  
  
"Mungo, what are you doing here? Who's... that?" She exclaimed looking at Demeter in disgust.  
  
"Bomb, this is Demetah. She's the queen Mac captured and she 'asn' eaten' for three days. Oime afraid she moite die if we don' do sumffin," Mungo said desperately. Bomb's expression changed from a look of disgust to a look of pure worry.  
  
"Oh, bring that poor dear in here, we'll fix her up in no time," Bomb said gently opening the door wider so Mungo could carry her in. Mungo brought her in, and many queens were inside the big sunny room, they all looked curiously at him and Demeter.  
  
Mungo ignored them and put her down on a big fluffy cushion in the middle of the room. Bombalurina and some other queens flocked around her, sponging her head with a cloth and bringing her warm milk and tuna. Mungojerrie stood awkwardly in the background. After a while a very fluffy white queen gave Mungo an odd look.  
  
"Are you still here?" She said, clearly he had been forgotten. Mungo shrugged.  
  
"Oi woz... jus' makin' sure she woz awroite..." Mungo said awkwardly. The queen, her name was Griddlebone, shook her head and pulled Mungo by the arm away from the group of queens.  
  
"Mungo, you know you can't have feelings for one of the boss's queens!" Griddlebone whispered urgently. Mungo felt his face getting very warm.  
  
"Oi don' loike 'er or nuffin'! Oi jus' wanted to make sure she woz awroite and everyfin," Mungo said clearing his throat several times. Griddlebone gave him a look filled with pity.  
  
"Ye'd best be getting' out of here Mungo," Griddlebone said looking around nervously. "We'll all be in enough trouble as it is, takin' her out of her cell and all,"  
  
"Yea, but you queen's can sweet tawk 'cav outta anyfin," Mungo said with a half grin. "Jus' don' let 'im no it woz me, 'eh?" Mungo gave a nod to Bombalurina who was trying to listen in on their conversation, and he walked out of the room, giving one last look to Demeter. He couldn't even see her through the crowd of queens. He sighed to himself and left the room.  
  
Mungo prowled the hallways, scowling at everyone who crossed his path. A few cats said hello to him, he ignored them completely. He was furious at Macavity for doing that to Demeter, she was in such a terrible state, Mungo couldn't even believe it. He was more furious at himself for letting it happen. He was also furious at Griddlebone for suggesting that he had feelings for Demeter.  
  
"How can she be that stupid," Mungo thought to himself angrily, pacing the hallways, "Can't a tom make sure a queen is alright, before everyone is swarming all over him, accusing him of having feelings for her?" Mungo ran out of the warehouse, he needed some air. It was getting to be late evening, the sun was setting and the sky was turning a beautiful purple color. Mungo sat down in the alley and watched it set, wishing he was a million miles away. 


	4. Macavity's Anger

Mungo had been sitting outside, looking up at the sky for at least an hour when he felt someone's paw on his shoulder. He turned around to find himself facing Macavity.

"Oh, eh boss," Mungo said with casual cheerfulness.

"Good evening Mungo," Macavity said smoothly, in a tone Mungo didn't like very much.

"Good raid tonoite?" Mungo said, shifting his position slightly, so Macavity's paw moved off his shoulder.

"Yes it was. We need to have a little chat Mungo, so come take a stroll with me," Macavity said, his voice low and persuading. Mungo gulped and followed the large red cat down the alley. They walked in silence for a while, until Macavity stopped suddenly and turned to Mungo.

"So. You were spotted taking Demeter out of her cell. I was very worried about her when I came back and she wasn't there. So worried in fact, that I had to kill a few people to find out where she was," Macavity said this very quietly and calmly, while Mungo began to sweat, fearing the worst.

"You know Mungo, you're a good agent. You steal. You're quiet. You do as you're told. So I was especially surprised when I found out it was you who took Demeter from her cell. I just want to ask you, why?" Macavity said this as he circled Mungo, his yellow eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight.

"Oi… jus… oi 'eard 'er cryin' when oi walked pas' 'er cell an' all," Mungo said, his throat dry. He swallowed and licked his lips. "Oi jus' poked moi 'ead in tah see if everyfin was allroite, an' she looked a bit sick so oi thought oide take 'er to the queens, get em to clean 'er up a bit and then put 'er roite back in 'er cell for ya," Mungo said the last part very quickly as he stared at the ground. Macavity raised an eyebrow.

"So Mungo, you did this out of the goodness of your heart?" Macavity stepped closer to Mungojerrie. "Well then I must thank you Mungo, for sticking your nose in other people's business…" And with that Macavity punched Mungojerrie hard in the stomach.

Mungojerrie was taken by surprise; he coughed and stumbled, and looked up at Macavity fearfully. Macavity gave him a blow to the face, Mungo could feel his claws raking his cheek, and he could feel his blood dripping down the side of his face. Mungo was suddenly furious, he was angrier than he had been in a long time. Years of frustration were boiling in his veins; he turned suddenly and attacked Macavity with all his might.

Though Macavity was bigger and stronger than him, Mungo brought him to the ground in one blow; there was surprise in Macavity's eyes, but he quickly kicked Mungo hard in the stomach and Mungo fell to the ground, breathless. Macavity put his paw to Mungo's throat and hissed at him.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Macavity said, his voice deadly calm.

"Oi…" Mungo couldn't think of any reason why Macavity would spare his life. Macavity tightened his grip and Mungo gasped, his oxygen supply being cut of slowly. The world turned white…

The next moment, Mungojerrie was coughing with all his might, gasping for air. Macavity had released him and stepped back, an odd look in his eyes.

"That, Mungojerrie, was your life in my hands. That was your last chance. You screw up one more time, and I'm going to kill you. Your debt will be considerably increased, so you're going to have to work twice as hard now," Macavity said, his voice eerily clear to Mungo's oxygen deprived brain. "Oh and Mungo," Macavity continued as he walked past Mungojerrie towards the warehouse, "I don't want to ever see you within a 20 foot vicinity of Demeter. Ever," Macavity grinned evily at Mungo and walked away.

Mungo coughed violently again, his throat feeling very sore. Tears of indignation sprung to his eyes. He wiped them, feeling ashamed of himself. Letting a queen get to him this way! What was the matter with him?


End file.
